The present invention concerns nutritional supplements or food compositions that are useful for suppressing appetite and for enhancing exercise performance and recovery.
Increased longevity in the human population and increased costs of health care have generated considerable interest in alternatives to conventional therapies. Drug therapies are considered a desirable alternative to surgical treatments whenever possible because of the cost savings involved. However, drug therapy can itself become expensive. As a result, there is a need for still other approaches, such as nutritional therapies, for various disorders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,107 to Brooks describes a food supplement containing lactic acid salts and/or polymers as an energy source supplement during exercise and recovery.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,921 to Kaufman describes a therapeutic food composition that contains a slowly digested complex carbohydrate, particularly uncooked cornstarch, useful for diminishing blood sugar fluctuations in diabetic patients, and particularly as a night time snack food.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,555 to Bell et al. describes a diabetic supplement bar that preferably contains uncooked cornstarch,.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,797 to Bell et al. describes a nutritional supplement bar used to treat appetite suppression and combat weight loss.
A first aspect of the present invention is a method of suppressing appetite in a subject in need thereof. The method comprises administering to the subject, in an effective appetite suppressing amount, a food composition that includes a slowly absorbed complex carbohydrate such as uncooked cornstarch.
A second aspect of the present invention is a method of enhancing exercise performance or recovery in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering to said subject, in an amount effective to enhance exercise performance or recovery, a food composition that includes a slowly absorbed complex carbohydrate such as uncooked cornstarch.
A food composition or nutritional supplement useful for carrying out the foregoing methods typically comprises:
(a) about 10 to 75 percent by weight of slowly absorbed complex carbohydrate;
(b) about 10 to 40 percent by weight of rapidly absorbed complex carbohydrate;
(c) about 2 to 40 percent by weight of protein;
(d) about 2 to 40 percent by weight of fat; and
(e) at least one sweetening agent in an amount effective to sweeten said food composition.
Numerous other additives, supplements and the like can also be included in the composition, as desired.
The foregoing and other objects and aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the drawings herein and the specification set forth below.